'Radio' Means Something Very Different Online Than It Does In The Traditional Sense

from the online-radio-killed-the-radio-star dept

Over at the New York Times, Saul Hansell has written a post about online music based around an interview with the CEO of Tivoli Audio, which has been building radios that can connect over WiFi to internet radio stations. Hansell contends that internet radio will be the dominant form of digital music, ahead of downloads and "lots of other ways" to listen. It's an interesting argument, particularly when it's juxtaposed against the backdrop of a floundering terrestrial radio business and the struggles of satellite radio. It's also one that's likely to create a lot of pushback from download devotees, such as Hansell's first commenter, who chimes in with "keep your hands off my music." Sure, the freedom from restrictive playlists that do-it-yourself digital music offers is powerful, and terrestrial radio may not be particularly satisfying for many people, but it's important to realize that the term "radio" takes on a much broader meaning online than it does in the terrestrial broadcast context. There's still a lot of room for curated musical experiences -- which used to solely be the domain of broadcast DJs -- whether it's in the form of human-programmed streams, algorithmically or genre-based channels, podcasts, MP3 blogs or even social-network recommendations. And, as Hansell points out, there's a real convenience factor at play as well. What online radio offers is the ability to take many of traditional radio's good aspects, like convenience and exposure to new music, while doing away with the aspects that turn off so many listeners, whether it's annoying DJs, too many ads, or the wrong choice of music. It then takes these aspects, puts them in different formats, and expands them across tens of thousands of different kinds of music. So while the traditional idea of "radio" may be struggling a bit, its online evolution will keep going strong.

Reader Comments

Internet radio

I think internet radio is the way to go, a traditional radio has a limited audience but an internet radio is limitless to how many people can tune in at a time. I’ve also used the internet radio to tune into a local radio station rather than a radio because i think it has better quality.

It is helpful to have a few number of media outlets that everyone pays attention to. It makes sure we have some shared experiences, which make it possible for us to relate to each other enough to convey our unshared experiences. I hope that the internet doesnt completely eviscerate this important function that radio serves, leaving us completely at the mercy of the ultra splintered long tail. Both types of media sourcing are necessary.

WI FI Radio is the best

Thousands of stations from all over the World and no subscription fee. I have had it with commercial radio a long time ago. To be completly honest though this is not scientific but anecdotal as a prime example I have timed with a chess clock WLS talk radio in Chicago a few times over the period of an hour. Here are my results. 17-22 minutes of commercials, bumpers, and promos per hour. Throw in 5 minutes of stale news per hour and whats left to listen to? The only advantage to this is if you are having trouble falling asleep I highly recomend this format. Its like the old story. Once you peel a banana and throw away the bone what have you got left?

the 1 major advantage of internet radio

For me, the 1 "killer feature" of internet radio sites like LastFM is the ability to skip forward over a song I don't like/am bored with, etc. I find I miss this feature even more than specialized channels and is something I always wish I had available on my car stereo.